Pros:

Cons:

If the old adage of "A picture is worth a thousand words" rings true, then Trauma would easily take the crown for "game with the most words". The photographic dreams you'll be exploring are those of a car crash patient, in an effort to face her fears and closely kept secrets.

In the loosest of terms, it's a point and click adventure, but Trauma isn't preoccupied with head-scratching puzzles or serious challenge; it's more concerned with presenting existential thoughts, and allowing you to interpret them in whatever way you please.

Are we the only ones spooked out by this image?

Four dreams make up the entirety of this journey, and you're free to tackle them in any order. Each one unfolds in a place from the patient's past, though instead of the picturesque reality they once were, they've all been damaged by the events she's been through. In a way, she uses the snapshots of familiar surrounds to uncover current problems. And they truly are snapshots. The environments of Trauma are built entirely from real-world photography, and by hovering over portions of the screen it highlights areas you can examine in more detail or move to. The way each photograph stitches together and fades in to one another is impressive tech, but the developer has resisted common temptation: instead of this feature taking centre stage, it's used simply as a vessel to deliver the experience.

The obsession with photography permeates further than the presentation too, as photographs litter each dream. Some provide insight and intrigue as to the person she was, while others teach you the mouse gestures you're able to use as an alternative method of movement, as well as to solve simple puzzles.

Though each dream contains a main ending, providing you with a short cut scene and further insight in to the patient, they also include alternate endings. While not providing anywhere near as much information, they serve to raise interesting questions of their own. Accessing these endings requires you to have found the correct gesture in another dream, and this re-treading of old ground can feel arbitrary at times. The reward is usually worth it though, and I was too transfixed with digging deeper that it simply didn't bother me.

Neither did the lack of a goal or overarching higher narrative. To Trauma's benefit, it didn't sway my enthusiasm, as I was asked to push aside my common expectations of what a "game" should be. A morbid curiosity continued to tug away at me as I progressed from one dream to the next. At times it was to uncover more of this woman's history and hurts, but more often than not it was my selfish wont to see how her troubles affected me; to find what I could in myself.

Roads are a common theme in this game about a car accident.

Some of you may just write it off as "artsy fartsy", and that's fine. Trauma probably isn't for you, and it is impossible for me to say exactly who will find enjoyment in it. I can say that if you're tired of the preoccupation with the omnipresent emotion of "fun" most games seemingly need to contain, and like the idea of an experience which garners actual thought, you would do well to give Trauma a look; just remember that what you'll find will depend entirely on what you're looking for.

Spy Guy says: In the age where indie games are a dime a dozen, how many of you had heard of Trauma before today? Are you intrigued enough to give it a go? It certainly looks like an experience that will differ wildly between those who play it.